Urban Farmhouse

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Wednesday, November 12, 2014

HOW GREAT IS HIS LOVE

This past May on mothers day, God showed himself to me. Not in blessings and answered prayer but in the midst of pain and failure. Macy was up stairs on the coach sick with pneumonia and I got the call from my momma that my precious grandma went to be with Jesus. I was so grateful to have been given so much time with her, yet so frustrated and sad at the thought of having to live life without her. She represented so much to me-peace, comfort, tradition, saftey (when mom or dad were mad), love, godliness, contentment and so much more. This was the pain in which God comforted me in.
The failure came the next day when I took June to the dentist to find out that she had 8 cavities and needed 2 root canals. How could this be! I nursed her, and when she refused, I pumped for 5 months, and when I had nothing left, I drove 30 minutes one way every week to get the best goat milk I could find to make her homemade formula. I brushed her teeth, I fed her great food. Yet I felt like I failed my little girl.
Things continued to get a little tricky that week...the following day we sold our house, which was with such mixed emotion, and they buyers wanted us out in 2 1/2 weeks. Wow, okay, we can do this, but first we need to head to South Dakota to a funeral, get Macy back on his feet and fix Junes teeth. Oh, and we found out that the little getaway to Florida we had planned for just the two of us that coming weekend would have to be canceled due to the funeral and we would not be able to get a refund.
In the midst of it all, God showed Himself to me in such a big way. Peace and Joy gave us the strength we needed and friends came along side us in such a big way. Our neighbor worked after hours on Junes worst teeth so we could make the funeral and fix the rest when we got home, my in laws took the kids for us so we could have a quite drive and quality time with my family. Macy was not 100% but there was rest waiting for him in South Dakota despite a funeral. The vacation was lost, but replaced with some of the most amazing family time I have ever experienced. My grandmas funeral was the most beautiful funeral; she had planned it all, exactly how she wanted, in true grandma fashion, and it felt like she was giving us all such a big hug and kiss goodbye. I will treasure that forever.
So I tell you this story to tell you another story..yesterday I was sitting in the dentists office again, looking at Junes face covered in broken blood vessels from screaming so much (we have been to the dentist 8 times since may...she's traumatized to say the least), listening to the Dentist tell me June needed about $800 dollars more of dental work done. I couldn't stand the thought of putting June through more and I selfishly didn't want to pay $800 to put her through more...the tears began to well up but His still small voice said "I've got you Jennifer, trust me, stand firm in me." Then I recalled my week in May, a week in which my trust in the Lord was strengthened and my eyes were opened a little more to God's intense love for us, even in the midst of the chaos and the struggle. He was telling me to "stand firm" yesterday and trust Him. We certainly wish we would have gotten a great check up yesterday and walked out of those doors praising God for the blessings, but we didn't. Now we stand firm in His love and mercy and grace knowing that He works all things together for good for those who love Him, and who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

Friday, November 7, 2014

Okay, so we talked about setting the mood
and making meal planning as fun as possible….but you might be sitting there
with your weekly planner and pen in hand, a hot cup of tea and chocolate (most
important detail) and still feeling like a lost puppy. What in the world are you going to feed your
family or yourself? I let you in on
where I begin my list and that may give ya some ideas and a place to start.

So we try to focus on 80% paleo based diet
(grain-free) and then let the other 20% fall where it may. So if you were to come to our home on a
Monday night you would more than likely find us eating roasted chicken and
sweet potatoes with green beans and salad. This meal gets me off to a great
start for the week, cause with that one little chicky I can do a whole lot of
magic (until the kids eat more…then it may take two chickys)! Then, the left
over roasted sweet potatoes and green beans will be part of breakfast and lunch
for the next couple of days.

So once the belly’s are full, I de-bone the
chicken and put all the meat in a tupperware for my next meal. I then take the chicken bones and everything
from the roaster pan and through it in the crock pot with some water and apple
cider vinegar and make one of the most healing foods on the planet…homemade
chicken broth.

So, then when looking at the rest of the
week, I find a recipe that will use my leftover chicken and a soup for my
chicken broth. But let’s start with the
roasted chicken and sweet potatoes recipe and in following weeks I will send
recipes your way that I use a lot for the leftovers.

Roasted Whole Chicken

There are a lot of ways to do a roasted
chicken, but usually I keep it short and sweet! When I am really in a hurry or
just feeling a little lazy….I simply sprinkle some salt, pepper and garlic
powder on that bad boy, top with some butter and call it a day.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken

Sea Salt and pepper

1/2 yellow onion chopped

2 Garlic cloves

1 chopped carrot

3 tablespoons butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the
chicken inside and out. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.
Stuff the cavity with the onion, garlic and carrots. Sprinkle the outside again
with salt and pepper and cut the butter into 3-1 TBSP slabs and place onto on
chicken. Tie the legs together with kitchen string (don’t stress if you do not
have any…it will still be great!).

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until
the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and
cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter
and serve.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

Sweet potatoes

Coconut oil

Sea salt and pepper

Cinnamon

Directions:

Oven 425 Degrees

The chicken should already be cooking so
just set the pan in with the chicken (bottom rack is fine)

Cut up the sweet potatoes into cubes (I use
about 4-6 potatoes, so I can have extra for breakfast and other meals
throughout week) and place in large 15x11 baking pan. Put about 1 TBSP coconut
oil on the sweet potatoes. (I just put it right on top of the potatoes, put in
oven and after about ten minutes in oven, it is melted and then I toss the
sweet potatoes with it.)

Bake for about 45 mins…..if like crispy,
place on top rack for about 10 minutes at 475 degrees. Once they are cooked to how you like them,
take them out and toss with sea salt, pepper and a whole lot of cinnamon! Play
around with different seasonings….you really cant go wrong…I just love cinnamon
J

Next week we will tackle chicken broth!
Also will throw some recipe ideas at you that will help you use that chicken
for all its worth!

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Meal Planning Part 1

Most Sunday nights after I have conquered
the feat of putting the babes down you will find me on the couch with my weekly
planner, cookbooks and some hot tea and chocolate close by. I have learned that my mind does not function
in chaos, so I have had to discipline myself to plan ahead and take control of
taking care of my family. This did not come natural for me of coarse…but
I love how Paul writes, “Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly;
I do not fight like a man beating the air.
No I beat my body and make it a slave so that after I have preached to
others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinithians 9:26-27”

Once we sign the dotted line confirming we
are an adult we are saying that 90 percent of the things I am required to do
today probably wouldn't be my first choice, but I can choose to do them well and
with joy. That is why I work hard to
make everything fun…cause life is short and there is a lot of stress out
there. So if meal planning feels like a
beast and you don’t know where to start, start by making it enjoyable. Find a place in the house to retreat…get a
special drink ready and some good dark chocolate close by. Turn on your favorite CD and create an environment
that makes the chore fun and relaxing.

And don’t freak out if you have an off
week! Life does not fit in a box…..so adapt and just get back on track. Once
you get in the groove it will be like second hand nature and you will find that
your week is less stressful because you spent an hour preparing for it.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

GO TIGERS!!!

Nothings
screams fall like football, crisp, cool nights, and PUMPKIN everything. So to get in the fall spirit we headed to the
Republic Tigers football game to go cheer on our home town boys. We did not go emptied handed of course! I was
armed with my paleo chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate and my friend
April brought the most amazing paleo pumpkin muffins. It was an instant love connection with the
first bite of that muffin. So I had to
share this recipe with you all to help get you in the fall spirit.

Grain-Free Coconut Flour Pumpkin Muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

pinch of salt

4 eggs

2/3 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

6 tablespoons maple syrup

1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Grease or line a
muffin pan.

In a medium bowl whisk together coconut
flour, baking powder and soda and spices. In a large bowl whisk together
remaining (wet) ingredients except for the pecans until smooth and combined.

Add the flour mix to the wet mixture and
stir until all lumps are gone.

Divide batter into 12 muffin cavities and
top each with chopped nuts. Bake for 23 - 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted
in the center comes out clean.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

ME WANT COOKIES!

I love
chocolate chip cookies…they just do it for me. Although there is a time and
place for the good ole fashioned white flour and white sugar chocolate chip
cookie (CHEAT DAY!) you may decide that this almond flour version is all you
want.

So light
your yankee candle, put some Priscilla Ahn on your Pandora station and get
cooking!

Ingredients:

½ cup butter, softened

¼ cup coconut oil, softened

¾ cup coconut palm sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 large eggs

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp salt

3 cups blanched almond flour

1 ¼ cups chocolate chips of choice

2/3 c walnuts (optional)

Instructions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Line baking sheet with wax paper

2.Cream together butter, coconut
oil and sugar.Add the vanilla and eggs
and mix.

3.Mix in Baking soda and salt.Add the almond flour, 1 cup at a time. Fold
in chocolate chips and walnuts.

4.Place about 1 TBSP on baking
sheet.Bake for 11-13 minutes or until
golden brown

*You can refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to
firm the dough and create chewier cookie

Sunday, April 27, 2014

The Wait

Not a fan of waiting...especially for chocolate chip cookies to get out of the oven! Waiting is painful and honestly can be annoying. But so often in my Walk with the Lord, their is waiting. I have wrestled Him many times in this "waiting" process, but am understanding He is wanting me to trust Him in it.

Currently we are waiting for our home to sell. We were told by everyone that our home would sell fast, so we set out on this adventure with great hope of getting an offer quick. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months and I turned to crying! I raised my fist at God and asked Him where He was! He answered, " I am training you in steadfastness, Jennifer. Trust me." "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:2.

I am learning God is more concerned about the struggle in me, than the struggle I am wanting him to fight for me (my friend Jamie taught me that.) Through this painful process of cleaning a home with two awesome, highly energetic children and the start of a new business God has taken me from a place of complete frustration to supernatural Joy, Trust and Hope in Him and his great plan for us. Cannot wait to look back and see how Gods hand was orchestrating all the details, while I threw dirty diapers (not poopy ones of course) at the wall in frustration (He is so patient with me).

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11"

Sometimes we believe if we are in Gods will, it should be easy and fast. But more times than not, there is waiting. "Consider it pure JOY my brothers whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance MUST finish its work so that you may be COMPLETE, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4)

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About Me

Where do I start....I grew up in a small town in SD, called Bonesteel. I am so proud of where I grew up and I would never give up my small town childhood for anything. After 18 years on a dairy farm I headed to Springfield,MO to attend Evangel University, where I met my amazing husband. We married right after we graduated and started our journey together. Eight years later we have two amazing kiddos, opened CrossFit Republic, and have went through valley's and enjoyed the victories!